Does the Register for unitary patent protection display any information about the applicant's residence/principal place of business and place of business on the date of filing the European patent application within the meaning of Article 7 Regulation (EU)

Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 considers a European patent with unitary effect as a national patent in the participating Member State where the applicant had either:

1. residence or principal place of business on the filing date (Article 7(1)(a)) or

2. a place of business on the filing date if no residence or principal place of business exists in a participating Member State (Article 7(1)(b)).

Residence or principal place of business (Article 7(1)(a) Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012)

For European patent applications, applicants indicate their residence or principal place of business using EPO Form 1001. For international applications under the PCT, this information is provided on Form PCT/RO/101. The Register for unitary patent protection displays this data using links to the relevant forms (Rule 16(1)(x) UPR).

Place of business (Article 7(1)(b) Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012)

If the owner did not have a residence or principal place of business in a participating Member State at the time of filing the patent application (e.g. was located in the US or Switzerland), they can voluntarily indicate a place of business when requesting unitary effect. Providing this information can be beneficial for accurately reflecting the status of the patent in the Register. This information must be submitted with the request for unitary effect (Rule 16(1)(w) UPR). If no place of business is provided, German law will govern the patent as an object of property under Article 7(3) Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012.